


Sat on the Roof, You and I

by DetLandro



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, Fluff, Friendship, High School, Jake Peralta Loves Amy Santiago, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-03 19:34:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24810901
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DetLandro/pseuds/DetLandro
Summary: Jake:  If ur not dressed get dressedJake:  I'm coming to pick u upAmes:  What?Jake:  You need stress relief!  And lucky for u I am a newly minted driverJake:  Come on it'll be fun, and it’s not even midnight yetJake:  I’m already on my way Ames
Relationships: Jake Peralta & Amy Santiago, Jake Peralta/Amy Santiago
Comments: 9
Kudos: 69





	Sat on the Roof, You and I

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! I've had this fic in my brain for a week or so, I hope you enjoy it. I really like high school stuff because I think it's cute and I don't really know how to write cop stuff anyways so, most of my ideas are in that department. Title is from Cornelia Street by Taylor Swift

Jake’s eyebrows bunched together as he looked at his phone in front of him. Something was _off_ about the snapchat he was looking at, but he couldn’t quite place it. It wasn’t unusual for Amy to send her late night snaps from under the light blue covers of her bed.

Or her evening snaps. 

Or her “right after she got home from school” snaps for that matter.

Jake smiled a bit at that thought, but hey, Amy worked harder than anyone he knew; she deserved as many naps as she could squeeze into her schedule. He cursed quietly to himself as the timer ran out and the picture closed. He instinctively held down on the screen to replay it, knowing she’d ask about it but figuring he’d brush it off as an accident. Jake studied her face but again ran out of time. He cursed Amy (not for the first time) for not letting her snaps have the infinite timer. There wasn’t anything _specific_ in her snap, but his instincts were telling him something was wrong. And his instincts were usually right when it came to Amy. He had known her since the summer between Freshman and Sophomore year, and they had become pretty close in the year since.

He pursed his lips as he considered his next move. He might have been wrong, maybe nothing was the matter. He could already see her making fun of him for replaying her snap, _(“Aw, did you really wanna see my beautiful face again Pineapples?”)_ and if he paired _that_ with genuine concern for her wellbeing….well he’d never hear the end of it.

His concern won, and he took a quick pic and typed out a simple:

_r u ok?_

He kept his eyes on his phone and watched as she opened the snap. The minute he was on opened felt like the longest minute of his life, and he let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when he got a response. He quickly opened it and read the response:

_Honestly? Not really. Just really stressed out. Like more than normal lol_

Jake’s pride flared for just a moment at being able to read her expressions so well before he closed Snapchat and switched over to his texts. He scrolled to find their conversation and smiled when he landed on it. Their last text was from a couple weeks ago: he had sent a picture they had taken of the two of them smiling and holding up their english project that they got an A+ on. She had replied with a simple heart emoji, a fact that at the time had sent butterflies to his heart and exactly zero rational thoughts to his brain. Looking at it now had a similar effect, and he shook his head to get back on track. He began to type.

**Jake: R u dressed?**

**Ames: ...What?**

Oh. Right. Probably should’ve added more to that. Oh well, no other choice now but to push on.

**Jake: If ur not dressed get dressed**

**Jake: I'm coming to pick u up**

**Ames: What?**

**Jake: You need stress relief! And lucky for u I am a newly minted driver**

**Jake: Come on it'll be fun, and it’s not even midnight yet**

**Jake: I’m already on my way Ames**

Jake was at her house in five minutes, not even checking if Amy’d sent a reply. She had (a thumbs up emoji) so he quickly typed out that he was outside. He waited a few seconds, nervously tapping out a beat on the steering wheel, before he saw her door open. Amy was wearing a large sweatshirt and some cozy looking pajama pants and Jake smiled as he saw the sleeves that were too long hanging past her hands. She opened the passenger door and gave him a small, tired smile.

Jake smiled back, “Hey.”

“Hey.” She looked down at her hands after she buckled the seat belt, as Jake put the car in drive and they set out. “Is this _your_ car?”

He laughed a little, taking a turn, “Really Ames? _That’s_ the first thing you ask? Not _’where are we going Jake?’_ or _’are you sure this isn’t a kidnapping?’_ ”

“No, I trust you.”

Jake tried to hide the euphoria that statement gave him, but the corners of his mouth turned the slightest bit upwards. “This isn’t my car, it’s my mom’s. Believe me if I had the money to buy a car it would _not_ be a minivan.”

“What would--”

“Mustang,” he answered before she even finished the question. She smiled that quiet smile again into her lap and Jake could’ve died happy right there. They rode in a comfortable silence for another minute or two before Jake pulled into a parking lot and shut off the engine.

“We’re here!”

He hopped out and opened the door to the backseat. Amy looked up at where he’d brought them, her eyes roving over a large field framed by gentle trees with a volleyball court off in the corner and a singular wooden picnic table next to it.

“Where is….here Jake?”

“ _This_ is Peralta Beach, the finest stress reliever in Brooklyn, and the _best_ place for stargazing,” he said, reappearing out her window and opening her door. She looked warily at him and he held out his hand, a blanket he had packed now tucked under his other arm. “Come on, you said you trust me don’t you?”

Her lips curled up and she took his hand in his.

“I do.”

The smile Jake had been repressing the last time she said she trusted him was now unstoppable with the added bonus of her hand grasping his. God this girl was going to be the end of him. He shut the door behind her when she got out. She turned towards the field, but he gently tugged her towards the back of the car. She looked at him confused, clearly thinking they were heading to the field.

“Are you crazy Ames? It’s been raining all day, the grass is probably _sopping_ wet. And _that_ would not be good for those comfy pjs you got going on there.”

She rolled her eyes at him, “I was in bed Jake! Until you kidnapped me and took me to a random field in the middle of your neighborhood. I’m pretty sure every horror movie starts like this.”

“Wouldn’t know, hate them, too scary,” Jake replied without guilt, throwing the blanket onto the roof of the minivan and climbing up. He turned around once he was on the roof, watching Amy step up onto the bumper of the minivan. “Need any help?”

“Not from you, scaredy cat,” she jabbed as she continued to hoist herself onto the roof. Jake laid out the blanket and laid down, crossing his legs and throwing his hands under his head. Amy sat cross legged next to him.

“Come on Ames lay down, you can’t see the stars sitting up like that.”

She rolled her eyes but put her legs out in front of her and laid down next to Jake, who made sure to scoot away from her so there was still a gap of a few inches between them. They lay on top of the blanket for a little while, just silently gazing at the stars.

The sky was clear, the night was cool, and Jake Peralta could die a happy man. He allowed himself for a moment to dream. One day, maybe he wouldn’t have to scoot away. One day, maybe he wouldn’t have to let go of her hand as they climbed up. One day, maybe he could turn his head away from the breathtaking heavens above them, and gaze openly at something infinitely more beautiful.

But not today.

Romantic stylez could wait, today he was just her friend, and while he wasn’t necessarily satisfied with that, he’d take platonic stylez every time over losing her.

“I love looking at the stars, it’s like yoga for your eyes.”

She let out a small giggle beside him as he broke the silence. God it was adorable.

“Yeah, it’s really nice and quiet out here,” she answered, letting out a content sigh as she relaxed further.

“You feeling any less stressed Amy? I can take you home if you want.”

“Yeah,” she breathed, then quickly realized that wasn’t enough. “I mean, yeah like I’m less stressed not like yeah like I wanna go.”

Jake felt his heart flutter again at hearing that she wanted to stay, because truth be told he was willing to stay here with her until the sun came up, and then maybe the rest of his life after that.

“What was getting you all….razzled?”

“Razzled?”

“Work with me Ames.”

She gave him a look that he couldn’t quite decipher, before she looked back upwards towards the sky. He wanted to add that she didn’t have to talk if she didn’t want to, but she began before he could.

“Teddy asked me to homecoming today.”

Jake swallowed and kept his eyes pointed up. He knew this already, he had seen the pictures of the two of them smiling together on Kylie’s snap story earlier, but hearing her say it hurt just as much. He hadn’t been surprised when he found out, because Teddy had told her that he had feelings for her a month ago, and they had been hanging out a bit since then.

“That’s great Amy. He’s a great guy.”

She let out a deep breath beside him before answering in short bursts. “Yeah he is. He’s great. He’s really great. We like a lot of the same things, and he’s always so nice and sweet, and he’s....great.” She took a pause, and Jake saw out of the corner of his eye that she had closed her eyes tight. “I guess I’m just worried that I’m gonna screw it up somehow. That I’ll, I don’t know, say the wrong thing or laugh at the wrong part of the joke or something. And homecoming is such an official date and we haven’t had like, the _’are we boyfriend girlfriend’_ talk and when we dance what if my hands are too _sweaty_ or something and it’s just all so _difficult_ Jake!”

He lay quietly for a bit as she finished her spiel. He started to speak but she cut him off by rolling onto her side and asking him a question.

“Are you coming in our group to the dance?”

“Yeah I think I probably will. Gina is going with Rosa, and Rosa’s in your group right?”

Amy nodded. Earlier, Jake had decided not to go to the dance after finding out Amy wouldn’t be going alone, but Gina had told him flat out that he was coming and she’d make sure he had a good time instead of wallowing in his own self pity at home. Going in the same group as Amy and her date wasn’t really his idea of a good start to that mission, but Gina was already willing to sacrifice some of her own time with Rosa at the dance to look after his mopey butt, so he couldn’t really complain.

“Good, that’ll be fun,” Amy said, giving him a small smile.

_Yeah, sooooo fun,_ he thought.

They both grew quiet as Amy relaxed onto her back.

“Can I give you some advice?” Jake asked a little sheepishly, which was not a trait most people would associate to his personality. Amy looked over at him and nodded, and Jake continued. “Sorry if I’m out of line. I know I’ve never had like a _girlfriend,_ but when I think about crushes and relationships and stuff, I always think I want something that feels easy to me. Like I don’t have to worry because I know they won’t care if I make a mistake, which is good because I make a _lot_ of them. I don’t know, Teddy’s a really good guy, but it just sort of seems like you have all this stress when the person you spend your time with should take away that stress. They should be someone who can always calm you down.”

Amy stays quiet after he finishes, and Jake has three fears:

Number one: She figured out he has a major crush on her due to his rambling.

Number two: She’s mad that he’s questioned whether her not-a-boyfriend is a good match for her.

Number three: She was so bored by him that she fell asleep halfway through.

They’re both quiet for a little while longer, Jake listening very carefully to see if he can hear her snoring. He doesn’t, but he does hear her voice coming quietly from the other side of the roof of his mom’s minivan.

“Who calms you down Jake?”

Jake’s breath catches in his throat and he tries to figure out what to say. Somehow they’ve been friends for over a year without Amy ever once asking about his love life. His brain can’t quite figure out how to avoid answering yet so he settles on a joke.

“Well my mom makes pretty good hot chocolate and that usually works….”

“Jake….”

_“Oh wait a minute!_ Amy Santiago were you trying to ask who I _like?”_

Amy rolled her eyes at him but raised her eyebrows a bit to ask again. Jake looked up at the sky, hands still folded under his head, and answered as relaxed as he could.

“Well I mean I’m usually a pretty calm person. I mean not like _calm_ calm but I don’t really get stressed out that often. But, when I am overwhelmed, just talking to her makes me feel better. I can just look at her smile and my heart slows down and I feel like everything’s good in my life again. I love her laugh, it makes me want to forget everything else except the things I can do to hear it again. And these stars? They’ve got nothing on her eyes. Looking into her eyes is like being cozy on a cold day. Sitting inside with a cup of hot chocolate, curling up under a blanket by the fireplace and your body feels more comfortable than it has any right to be. Your insides feel so warm when the outside is so cold. And you just feel safe. And happy.”

Jake let out a deep sigh, a smile breaking out across his face as he closed his eyes, barely breathing his next words,

“She’s amazing.”

Another short silence comes between Jake, Amy, and the galaxies above them. With his eyes still closed he feels Amy touch his bicep gently, before she asks with a whispered tone,

“Does she know, Jake? Does she know how you feel about her?”

He thought he heard a bit of uneasiness in her voice but he probably imagined it. In his head, Jake saw himself turning to her and telling Amy that it’s her. That she is the only one who makes him feel so special and peaceful. That being with her is better than Die Hard and Taylor Swift rolled into one.

But not tonight.

Tonight he’s her friend and he’s helping her destress as a friend, not as a guy with a motive. Although he supposed he _did_ have a motive, that the idea of making her happy was enough incentive to do anything she needed him to.

“I don’t think she does,” he answered her, opening his eyes and bringing himself back to reality. They lay for another few minutes before Jake asked if she was ready to go (he knew she was, he heard her yawn). Amy gave him a nod and he helped her climb down the back of the car. After she was down he bunched up the blanket in his arms and jumped down. They drove back to Amy’s house to the tune of Taylor Swift’s latest album, Jake choosing to merely hum along instead of his usual belting. It was quiet, but like everything he did with her, it was comfortable. He parked on the curb in front of her house and gave her a goofy grin. She smiled back, thanked him, and opened her door to leave. Jake’s smile faltered a bit as she hopped out of the passenger seat, already feeling that the car was emptier without her. She was about to shut her door, but hesitated and looked him in the eyes.

“You should tell her how you feel.”

“One day I will, when the time is right.” She nodded at him and his smile was less goofy, and more genuine. She shut the door and walked up to her porch, disappearing from his view after she entered the house. He took a moment to sigh, completely head over heels in love with the girl with the oversized sweatshirt and cozy pajamas. He whispered aloud to himself in the quiet car,

“One day I will.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Kudos are great and I love reading comments if you have any.


End file.
